American biologists say they found a way to protect brain cells from coronavirus
American molecular biologists successfully protected brain cells from the new coronavirus using a remedy for the hepatitis C approved by WHO. Preliminary results were published in an electronic scientific library.
The study notes that early coronavirus researches were focused on the respiratory part of COVID-19. However, some patients experienced other neurological symptoms, including stroke, hallucinations, epilepsy, encephalopathy, loss of smell or taste. That’s why, the researchers believe that SARS-CoV-2 may affect the central nervous system.
Possible complications in infected pregnant women also raise questions. So, a recent research showed that 16 newly born women with COVID-19 showed placental damages. Finally, SARS-CoV-2 was found in seminal fluid.
But, today, there’s no experimental evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may infect and affect human brain cells.
A group of neurophysiologists and molecular biologists, led by professor from University of California at San Diego Alison Muotri, tested whether SARS-CoV-2 may infect a developing brain and whether the drug for hepatitis, approved by FDA and WHO, can be a potential treatment.
Researchers have created mini “models” of the human brains, then treated with the virus and studied how it interacts with neurons. In addition, this research allowed to understand how different antiviral drugs protected the nerve cells from infection.
Unfortunately, it turned out that coronavirus can drain into brain cells and cause disturbances in its work. But the researchers found that an approved cure for hepatitis C significantly reduces the number of infected cells and eliminateы the disturbances in the nerve endings caused by the virus.
According to the researchers, this cure can eliminate some symptoms in adult patients, including loss of taste and smell, and also block the vertical transmission of the virus from pregnant women to child in the womb. But this will require additional research.
